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Bris. ,7. P@ychiat.

(5964), iou, 290-308

Male-Female Differences in Underwater Sensory Isolation*


By CATHRYN WALTERS, OSCAR A. PARSONS and JAY T. SHURLEY

Since the pioneering studies of Hebb and his the use of medical students, which constituted
associates (2) on the effects of sensory depriva a restricted population. The purpose of the
tion on human beings, numerous investigators present experiment is twofold : first, to attempt
have conducted experimental studies under to cross-validate the results of the first study
varying conditions in an effort to establish in a more varied population ; and second, to
consistent trends in behaviour ofsubjects exposed explore in greater detail male/female differences
to such conditions. Since only two other in response to the experience.
laboratories, both using male subjects, have
reported underwater studies in deprivation (I,
5), an attempt to replicate our findings of sex METHoD
differences in response to the situation by use of Subjects were twenty paid volunteer partici
this method seemed to be in order. pants who worked in or around the Medical
Our first explanatory study was aimed at Center and others who had heard about the
examination of two aspects of the deprivation experiment from those employed in the Center.
experience ; first, the differences observed in Males and females were matched in age,
male/female responses to the experience ; and education and socio-economic background (s).
second, an evaluation of the influence of the They did not differ significantly in order of
interaction between sex of subject and sex of birth. The Mf scale on the MMPI was used
interviewer on the reports obtained. A rationale to measure masculine and feminine interests
for predictions of behaviour was developed and subjects were selected on the basis of a ten
from the Witkin ci a!. (z i) framework of field point or greater difference between highest
dependency us. bodily orientation. It was score for males and lowest score for females.
expected that females would be more field Subjects reported to the laboratory at 8 a.m.
dependent than males as measured by stimulus where two interviewers, one male and one
bound (SB) responses, i.e. responses reflecting female, were present. Pulse rate, respiration
attention to and preoccupation with external rate, oral temperature, and systolic and diastolic
stimuli ; while males were expected to be more blood pressure were obtained before the run
bodily oriented as measured by non-stimulus by one of the examiners, and the same indices
(NSB) responses, i.e. responses reflecting atten were taken after the run by the other examiner.
ton to internal stimuli. Each subject was exposed individually to three
Medical students served as subjects for the hours of underwater sensory deprivation in the
first study and results revealed an opposite trend isolation chamber, and all verbal responses
from that predicted. That is (i) females had a during this period were recorded and tran
significantly higher proportion ofNSB responses scribed. Description of the chamber is reported V

than the males ; (2) no difference was found in elsewhere (8).


total psychological content of interviews ; and Following isolation, an equal number of
(3) despite efforts to achieve a standard inter subjects were interviewed by either the male or
view, the social-sexual role of both subject and female interviewer. A standard interview of
interviewer influenced the reports obtained twenty open-ended questions was used for the
about the experience. post-isolation interview. Answers to five of the
A possible limitation of the above study was questions (feelings of fright, unpleasantness,
* This study was supported, in part, by Veterans sex, what the subjects learned about themselves
Administration Medical Research (82oo) Funds. and what the experience was remindful of) were
290
MALE-FEMALE DIFFERENCES IN UNDERWATER SENSORY ISOLATiON 291

@ used for measurement of psychological content. psychological content of interviews was 8 I.


h Responses
recorded
during
isolation
wereDifference between sexes on psychological
classified into either SB or NSB categories by content of interviews was not statistically
two experienced clinical psychologists who significant (Table II), a finding also consistent
were not involved in the study. A six-point with the results of the first study.
rating scale of psychological content of responses
4 to the five questions was also scored independ TABt.a II
ently by the two judges. This scale was designed Comparison ofScores on P.@ychological Content of Interviews
to measure the amount ofintimate, personalized
information given to interviewers of the same Varied Population (N =20)
or opposite sex. The scale was previously
Group r Group II
demonstrated to be of sufficient reliability. (Female) (Male)
Details of scoring procedure are given in the
@) earlier publication ( i o). Mean .. .. .. 250 254
Median .. .. .. 245 250
RESULTS Standard deviation .. .. 5 . 73 6.32
Mean difference
N.S.Medical
.. .. 4
Correlation (rho) between judges on rating
of SB-NSB responses was .97. The Mann i6)Mean Students (N=
Whitney U Test (Table I) shows that differences
) between males and females on number of NSB
.. .. .. 3@.7 261
300Standard
Median .. .. .. 35@0
@ responses is significant at the . o6 level, a finding deviation .. .. 7 .7 .7
consistent with results of the first study. In both Mean difference .. .. 5 .6 N.S.
instances the males consistently gave fewer
NSB responses.
Correlation (r) between judges on scoring of The interaction effects between sex of subject

TABi.a I
Comparison ofD@fferencesBetween Males and Females on SB and XSB Responses

PairNo.RawDataFemalesMalesSBNSBSBNSBI

........30150122
..
........23144733
..
.. ..
4 .. .. .. .. .. 48 38 II 5
5 .. .. .. .. .. 8 5 0 0
607 .. .... .... .... ..23 409 470 40
.. ..
8 .. .. .. .. .. II 5 3 0
I010
9 .. .... .... .... ..20 89 43 70
........2020i8613!22730Mean
..

.. . . .
Median .. 7.@
. . . . . . 55.5 35
Standard deviation . . . . . . 15 . 55@5131 i6 . 222@7 46 .@@9.730 4.6
@ean differences. . .. . .. . .i86

NSBMann-Whitney U Test p< .08.


292 MALE-FEMALE DIFFERENCES IN UNDERWATER SENSORY ISOLATION [March
and sex of interviewer was upheld for this study for the second study, it will be noted that the
in the direction of the differences, but to a lesser interaction for three of the questions (un
degree than for the first group. As in the first pleasantness, sex, remindful) shows a similar
study, analysis of variance revealed that type trend to that observed in the first study.
of question (A) elicited significantly different Table VI presents proportion of responses to
responses (Table III), so again it was necessary eight other questions used in the interview.
to make an after-the-fact analysis of the five Reports of feeling rested, those of hunger and of c.
questions used for measurement. difficulty in breathing, reveal significant differ
ences between the sexes.
TA.isi.a III Women report more feelings of being rested
Analysis of Variance of Responses to Interview Qyestions
while the men report more difficulty in
(Psychological Content)
breathing and more feelings of hunger.
Source of of
VariationdfSum
SquaresFTotal SquaresMean DISCUSSION

.99913Pet.
.. . Cross Validation
.191236.5Sub.(C)
Ss . The prediction that sensory deprivation
..I33.@Int.(B) would elicit a greater number of SB responses
..I0BxC..
..S33.@Error.. from women and a greater number of NSB
..???Within responses from men was not upheld by this
study nor the previous one. In both instances
.. the women were more internally oriented (as
Responses (A)80
27468595@AxB.. 4790
..47@.7AxC.. measured by NSB responses) and thus appeared
..4Jo25AxBxC to be less field dependent than the men.
..4389.512Error For a detailed discussion of the possible explana
.. . .6446!72 tions of the above reversal, the reader is
referred to the previous study. In brief, we
. p<.oI. stated that the Witkin findings indicate that
Table IV presents the means for the ratings women vary in their approach to a task
of psychological content of responses to each according to the task demand.
Pine and
question for both groups, and Table V presents Holt (6) have also reported that women vary
the F tests for the five questions for the separate more than men in their performance, and
groups. suggest that this greater variability may reflect
Although none of the F tests are significant a greater field dependency (in that their
TAnii IV
Means for Five Questions

Varied Population (N=2o)


-FrightUnpleasantnessSexLearningRemindfulGroupl(FsF1)
------ -

..
Groupll(FsM1) .. 38 29 32 82
Grouplfl(MsF1) 3.6 20 7.@
.. 46 7.4
Group IV (Ms M1).. . .52
5.@29 6oMedical
3.@44 4666 6@97.9

6)Groupl(FsF1) Students(N= i
..
Grouplr(FsM1) .. 5.0 62 20 9.4 7.5
GroupIIl(MsF1) .. 25 65 20 6@o 5.7
GrouplV(MsM1).. ..@6o 5742 3@25.7 628'@ 6@285 8o
I 1964] BY CATHRYN WALTERS, OSCAR A. PARSONS AND JAY T. SHURLEY 293

TABu@ V
F Testsfor Five Questions
Varied Population (N =20)

LearningRemindfulBetweenpairs
- Fright Unpleasantness Sex

.. .. o 1.4 II I@0
@ Between interviewers .. o o o 2 3 0
Between sexes .. .. o i .8 o o o
@ Interaction .. .. 0 2.4Medical
2 8 2 4 3 2I@2

i6)Betweenpairs Students (N=


.. .. .@ 1@2 42 3.5
@ Between interviewers .. .o o
o o i o
Betweensexes .. .. .@ .@ .@ i66t 50
11@o@*
Interaction .. .. I@2 35 246t .o3.1

p<@5
t p<.oI.TABut
VID@ffrences
QuestionsQuestion in Proportion ofResponses to Eight Interview

MalesFemales1.
Thirst . .. .. .. .. .. I3OutofI8 9outofl8
2. Hunger .. .. .. .. .. .. 12 out of i8 i out of i8
3. Sleeping dreams .. .. .. .. 9 out of i8 6 out of i8
4. Daydreams .. .. .. .. .. i6 out of 18 54 out of i8
5. Annoyance .. .. .. .. .. i6 out of i8 14 out of i8
6. Rested .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 out of 18 12 out of 18*
7. Difficult in breathing .. .. .. .. 9 out of i 7 I out of i8t
@ 8. Boredom : .. .. I I out of 18 7 out of i8

S p<.025.
t p<.005.
-, @p<.ooI.

@ responses vary with the task demand), or it not differ from the males. Although Witkin et a!.
may reflect a differing response
set.That is, have termed this behaviour on the part of the
males and females may differ in their approach females greater variability in response to the task
to a task depending on the implicit assumptions demand, and therefore greater field dependency,
they have regarding what is expected of them. it may also be thought ofas greater adaptability.
The findings of our second study, confirming There is some evidence to suggest that this
@ the reversal of the predicted trend, plus some concept might be useful in accounting for the
additional observations, led us to consider a reversal found in the deprivation experience.
third possible explanation. For example, the greater incidence of reports
The Witkin (I I) studies show that when by women that they felt rested after the experi
subjects are tested with their eyes closed, no ence, plus a greater incidence of reports of
differences are found in males and females in difficulty in breathing by men, tends to indicate
-. field dependency. In other words, if cues are that the women seemed to be more relaxed
available, the women readily use them, but if in the isolation chamber. In addition, the men
@ they are not available, their performance does more frequently reported feelings of hunger,
294 MALE-FEMALE DIFFERENCES IN UNDERWATER SENSORY ISOLATION [March
thirst, and boredom. Further, additional cvi mains the only statistically significant one.
dence of possible greater adaptation on the This finding suggests that while the sex of the
part of the women was revealed in answers to interviewer may or may not be a determining
the question, Howwas your mood ?Forty influence on information obtained regarding
adjectives taken from Roget's (7) word list most personal items, it does appear to be
referring to pain and pleasure were used to an important variable when information of a
measure the content of answers to this question. sexual nature is being elicited. Further, the
There was no difference between the sexes in possible effect of degree of familiarity demon
the number of pain adjectives used, but strates the complexity of the interviewing
differences in the number of pleasure adjectives situation and emphasizes the necessity for
used was significant at the . 05 level (t-test), examining all interrelated factors operating
with the women giving the greater number. at a given time in a given situation.
Thus, our findings do suggest that there may
be differences between the sexes in their Additional Findings
adaptation to the underwater isolation experi In the first study the question arose whether
ence. The reasons for such differences, how medical students constituted a representative
ever, remain obscure, owing to their complex sample of maleness and femaleness in other
nature. Perhaps the prolonged immersion in than biological terms. In choosing subjects
warm water may have contributed to the more for both studies, the Mf scale on the M.M.P.I.
relaxed state of the women. It has been served as a screening device for measuring
commonly observed that men seem to prefer masculine-feminine interest patterns. Eighteen
showers, while women generally prefer tub medical students were tested, and sixteen were
baths. One way of testing the role or psycho selected who were within average limits for
logical meaning of the water per se would be to their respective sexes. On the other hand, in the
compare males and females in the air more varied population group, it was necessary
sensory deprivation experiment. to test 38 subjects before finding twenty who
Regarding the interview concerning reports fitted the prescribed criteria. This finding
of the experiences, it will be noted that results raised the question ofwhy the sexes appeared to
of the second investigation reveal that none of be more sharply differentiated in the medical
the five questions in the interview attain students than in the second group. An overlap
statistical significance. The direction of the of scores on the Mf scale has been shown to be
differences, however, is the same as that a function of age and education (@) and this
observed in the first study, with the exception function may account for the difference. The
of the question about what the experience was medical students who were tested ranged in
remindful of. A possible explanation of the age from 22 to 34 and included first to fourth
difference in degree of interaction for the two year students, while those tested for the second
populations may be found upon closer exasnina study ranged in age from 9 to 43 and level of
tion of the relationship between examiners and education ranged from high school to post
subjects. Although the medical students were doctoral level.
relatively unknown to either of the examiners, Although differences in sexes constituted the
a number of the subjects from the second group primary focus for both studies, similarities of a
had frequent occasion to come in contact with psychological nature were also observed. No
the examiners during the course of their work consistent differences were found in visual or
in the Center and thus were better acquainted auditory images, incidence of sleep or dreams,
with them. The greater degree of familiarity feelings of annoyance, or tactual sensations.
may have been a contributing factor to the There was no difference between the sexes in
decreased amount of interaction between birth order, and this variable was not related to
interviewers and subjects. type of response or psychological content of
By combining the data for both groups, the interviews. In addition, the mean difference
question dealing with sexual information re between sexes in estimated time spent in the
.@ 1964] BY CATHRYN WALTERS, OSCAR A. PARSONS AND JAY T. SHURLEY 295
chamber was only four seconds. The average the findings of the first study for the isolation
underestimation of the three-hour period by experience : women gave more non-stimulus
women was one hour and three minutes, while bound responses than men. However, although
the men averaged one hour and seven minutes differences in the post-isolation interview re
underestimation. When asked the question, vealed the same trend, the differences were
Howwould you feel about repeating the markedly stronger for the medical students
experience ?all subjects indicated that they than for the more varied population.
would be willing to participate again, although REFERENcES
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@ 2. HERON, W., BEXTON, W. H., and HEBB, D. 0.
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fr while those of the present study were drawn 0. A. (i@6@z).Differences
in male and female
from a more varied population. The conditions responses to underwater sensory deprivation:
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Results of the present investigation confirmed York : Harper.
Cathryn Walters, B.A., Psychology Technician, Behavioral Science Laboratory of the Senior Medical
Investigator, Research Service, Veterans Administration Hospital, Oklahoma City 4, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Oscar A. Parsons, Ph.D., Professor of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Xeurology and
Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Medical Center, Oklahoma City 4, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Jay T. Shurley, M.D., Senior Medical Investigator (Psychiatry), Behavioral Science Laboratory, Research
Service, Veterans Administration Hospital; Career Research Professor of Psychiatry, University of
Okla/wma, School of Medicine, Oklahoma City 4, Oklahoma, U.S.A.

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